Sharapova thrashes Venus to storm into 4th round

Melbourne: Maria Sharapova defeated Venus Williams 6-1, 6-3 in a lopsided match-up between Grand Slam champions on Friday night to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Sharapova and Williams have 11 majors combined - four for the Russian, and seven for Williams. The 32-year-old Williams broke Sharapova as the Russian was serving for the victory at 6-1, 5-1 to keep the match alive. But Sharapova was able to close it out on her next service game.